Harm Reduction

Harm reduction acknowledges the dignity and humanity of people who use drugs.

Harm reduction is designed to meet people where they are at to form connection. Harm reduction empowers people with tools that reduce the risks of drug use, prevent overdose, improve health, and save lives.

Options, not judgement

Harm reduction is about offering options that can help people who use drugs. It includes:

• stable housing,
• accurate, fact-based drug education
• evidence-based , voluntary drug treatment
• access to life-saving drugs like naloxone that can reverse an opioid overdose,
• drug checking (like fentanyl or xylazine test strips) that can detect adulteration in the drug supply,
• syringe exchange services that keep people from contracting infectious diseases,
• overdose prevention centers where trained professionals can reverse fatal overdoses. It also connect people with addiction services and social supports., including treatment, etc.

Harm reduction is one piece of the puzzle in helping people who use drugs.

Harm reduction is a lifesaving tool. It can keep people safer, and alive, while navigating social inequalities and other challenges . This includes homelessness, poverty, and trauma. Health starts where people live, learn, work, and play. Our elected officials must still invest in housing, in livable wages, in better access to health care etc.

Harm reduction services are an effective public health intervention.

They are proven to prevent overdose, curb the spread of blood-borne disease, save lives, and connect people with care. Yet, fear and stigma of drugs create unnecessary barriers to harm reduction which is costing lives. At Drug Policy Alliance, we advocate to expand harm reduction services across the United States.

To learn more about harm reduction, visit our friends at the National Harm Reduction Coalition.